USA > Massachusetts > History of the Fifth Massachusetts Battery : organized October 3, 1861, mustered out June 12, 1865, v.1 > Part 18
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224
HISTORY OF THE
FROM LETTERS OF LIEUT. PHILLIPS.
"CAMP WINFIELD SCOTT, April 18, 1862.
There is so much firing now around here that we don't get up to look out unless a shell comes in our neighborhood. The guns which are in plain sight directly in front of our tent, and the enemy's water batteries blaze away at cach other once in a while, but without accomplishing much. We can hear the shells whistling through the air, and an in- experienced individual would imagine them directly over our heads, though they do not come within a mile of us. . . . I do not know whether General Mcclellan was de- ceived in the character of the works to be encountered, but General Porter, who stands as high in McC.'s confidence as any General of Division had no idea that the rebel fortifi- cations were as strong as they really are. The first day was only a reconnoissance, as it would be as useless to throw stones at a brick wall as to oppose field batteries to earth- works armed with 32 pdrs. and 10 in. mortars. Our gen- erals soon found that out and are now preparing for an ex- tended siege. Nothing can be done without the siege train, and this moves slowly. There are now in a field about a mile from here,-a kind of depot, -- some fifteen 43 inch Rifled Guns, five 100 pdr. Parrott guns, and twenty 8 and Io inch mortars, besides three or four S in. Howitzers. The 43 in. guns and the Howitzers are mounted on siege carriages,-something like a field carriage,-the Parrotts on wrought iron barbette carriages with chains and trav- erse circle. Nothing has yet been done towards opening the trenches, but about 400 inen are at work across the creek in front of our two guns, in making gabions, so you see we expect to do some shovelling. . . . Meantime the rebels are not idle, but are working like bees, shovelling;
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FIFTH MASS. BATTERY.
dirt. that is to say, they are making the negroes work, for Lieut. Colonel Alexander, chief of engineers, told me the day I was out on picket, that he had just been inspecting them, and he could see nothing but negroes. . . . A de- serter who came in told the sergeant who had charge of him, and the sergeant told one of our men, that our shots the first Sunday we were here caused a great commotion in the rebel camp, bursting right in the tents. As the Centre section of the Mass. 5th was the only one that fired at the camp, you will see this story gives some satisfaction. At the same time mind I do not vouch for its correctness. [See p. 208] . . This afternoon I took a ride towards the various landings, -- Ship Point, Crab Point, Cheesman's Point, Back River Landing, Melville Point &c. all in the same general direction. . Close to the seige train in the field afore- said is a square redoubt, intended to defend an attack from Back River Landing and Ship Point. The redoubt is very well built. with a barbette in each corner for a gun, and would hold about 300 men. The ditch is full of water. [Barbette guns fire over the parapet and have a free range. ]
B
B
B
0
Entrance
-
B. Barracks
Redoubt.
The magazines are under the ramparts, and are very well protected. The barracks are very comfortable, like all rebel barracks in this neighborhood, being well built log houses. At present the redoubt is occupied as a magazine for the ammunition for the siege train, and holds quite a
. ..
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HISTORY OF THE
pile of shells. Farther down the road is what would he called in military language a lunette, with a fan coupe (The short length of parapet, by which the salient angle of a work is sometimes cut off. ) at the salient, and the gorge stockaded in this shape.
D
IlYdo.
35 Y35.
F
C
25 Yda.
A
Enfrance
B
A.Bis o mere stockade with no ditch.
Barbeltes for guns at Ck Fand at the pan coupe D&. E. d. Ditch.
LUNETTE.
This work was fitted for three guns, and say 200 infantry. The ditch was full of water. There were no barracks. The platforms for the guns had been laid and taken up again by the rebels, or by us. . . . The fortifications at Ship Point are, said to be very strong. . . . The country round here is very flat and dusty. We are encamped in a cornfield which is by no means as pleasant as grass land. Peach or- chards are very abundant, but I am afraid if we stay here till they are ripe there will be more men than peaches. . . . We have built up an extensive arbor in front of our tent. where we sit in arm chairs made out of barrels and enjoy our 'otium cum dignitate' in true military style. The pow- ers that be seem to have repented of their reduction of bag- gage, for tomorrow the officers will once more have three tents, -- wall tents."
Chase's Diary : "April 19. 1862. . . . Roar of musketry on extreme left at 9.30 p. m."
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FIFTH MASS. BATTERY.
Grows' Journal : "Saturday, April 19, 1862. Was called at I o'clock this morning to go on guard. After going on my post my attention was taken up till 3 o'clock by the pass- ing of troops with gabions made of wicker work. They are filled with earth, and in this way our intrenchments and breastworks are built by our troops. Was relieved at 3 this morning."
Phillips' Diary. "April 19. . .. Towards evening an easterly storm set in, and rained all night. A great many gabions moved across the bridges to this side. A great many men with shovels &c. crossed to the other side."
FROM LETTERS OF LIEUT. PHILLIPS.
"CAMP WINFIELD SCOTT NEAR YORKTOWN, Sunday Forenoon, April 20, 1862.
We arrived here two weeks ago, expecting to march right into Yorktown and have been waiting here ever since with- out apparently getting much nearer our object. . . . Our principal business now is to guard the bridges across Wormley Creek. We have 2 guns posted on a bluff just this side of the creek, commanding four bridges, and raking the opposite shore. The Battery is well masked with bushes, and I doubt whether the enemy know of its exist- ence. The three sections relieve each other in this duty, each taking it 24 hours at a time, so that I am down there one day out of three. The duties are not very laborious. We have built up a house out of slabs, roofed with a tar- paulin, and we get along very comfortably. Yesterday while I was down there, I devoted my energies to building a chair, calculating on a prolonged stay. We have built up an arbor in front of our tent and rigged up a settee, so that we can sit in the shade in the hot days to come. As the said settee, however, is rather hard. I thought I would
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HISTORY OF THE
get up something a little more comfortable, and yesterday I set to work to put my plans in execution. The result has fully answered my expectations. I have now a chair, which
Camp Chair.
I consider a triumph of genius and in which I can sit with great comfort. My chair is likewise a bedstead, and can be made to occupy any intermediate position between these two extremes. You may judge of its attractiveness by the following incident :-- Just after it was completed Major (Albert J.) Myer, Chief of the Signal Corps passed by and was so struck with it that nothing would satisfy him, but he must have one like it, so the man that made mine is going to make one for him. . . .
The siege,-so called,-of Yorktown progresses slowly. The siege train is coming up slowly; some 20 guns and 20 mortars having reached the depot about a mile from here. A large force have been at work making gabions, and a thousand or two went over the creek last night, with shovels and intrenching tools. . . . We have splendid artillery here, and ought to drive them out of their position in 48 hours after our guns are in position. Our siege train is made up mostly of 43 inch Rifled Guns, a very accurate and long ranged piece of ordnance, and a half dozen 100 pdr. Parrott Guns, which seem to have knocked Fort Pulaski to pieces. [Fort Pulaski commanded the entrance to the Savannah River on the eastern coast of Florida.] The enemy have some heavy ordnance e. g. the 10 inch Mortars with which-they practice at us, and some heavy Columbiads in their water batteries, but old smooth bore 320 and 240
£
229
FIFTH MASS. BATTERY.
form the most of their armament, while they use still smaller pieces a great deal. . .. The military commission to Europe,-Major Delafield. Major Mordecai and Captain McClellan, --- found great fault with the allied generals, be- cause they attempted to besiege Sebastopol without sur- rounding it and cutting off its supplies. General Mcclellan marches his army 200 miles to besiege Yorktown, and places it in this position. (See Plan of Operations. ) I have not yet been able to discern the difference between the two situations. And considering the fact that the rebels can throw up as many intrenchments as they please between Yorktown and Richmond, the siege does not seem to prom- ise any very satisfactory results. ... Referring to the Revolutionary map. our general hospital is at Lafayette's Headquarters. We are encamped where the Virginia militia were. Our bridges are built across Wormley's Creek where the old road crossed it to Moore's house or rather a little above. [A frame building with a brick foun- dation about a mile and a half south of Yorktown, and a quarter of a mile from the banks of the York River. The commissioners of the two armies met here when Cornwal- lis surrendered, to agree upon terms of capitulation. At that time it was occupied by a widow of the name of Moore, and was known as "Moore's house."] The enemy's works extend in a curved line from the British redoubt on the shore of the river to the Virginia quarters, our first camp, half way between Moore's house and the Adjt. Gen's Quar- ters. Our guns placed in position the first two days a little farther up the road to the right: Martin's Battery the first day to the right of the field where the British laid down their arms. . . . The peach orchard to the left has been cut down, and the houses close by it burnt by the rebels to pre- vent them from sheltering our sharpshooters. The Battery to which we directed most of our attention when we were in the field is the one nearest the road."
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HISTORY OF THE
FROM ANOTHER LETTER OF THE SAME DATE.
"Our three tents for the officers arrived yesterday. and as soon as the easterly storm, which is the order of the day at present, stops, we shall move in. . . . I will allow Gen- eral Mcclellan 5 weeks to take the place, and I think by the end of that time the soldiers will capture Yorktown. . . . The rebels occupy one line across the peninsula and we oc- cupy another parallel to it, and allowing that both sides can throw up dirt equally fast, they have the advantage of us, as they have one pile of dirt all thrown up. As far as I can see there is nothing to prevent them from throwing up a new line in the rear of their present intrenchments, and so continuing the process, and even supposing we could drive them out of their fortifications without difficulty by the slow process of a siege, it would take considerable time to trench from here to Richmond. . . . As things are now working, the event will be decided by engineering skill, and artillery practice. . . . In the point of artillery practice our army has shown itself immensely superior to the rebels. At Hilton Head, Fort Henry, Fort Pulaski, our heavy guns were so well manned that the result was inevitable, and here it must be the same. Our siege train consisting of the best Rifled Guns ought to dismount every rebel gun in 48 hours, and I have no doubt will do it. At 2,200 yards the first Sunday, one of my guns was aimed at a rebel gun, and at the second shot landed a shell in the embrasure. This from a 3 inch gun. A 43 inch gun of course ranges a great deal farther and more accurately at the same distance, and the first parallel is generally placed at 600 yards from the work attacked. . . . We have also six 100 pdr. Parrott Guns which I see went clear through the brick walls of Fort Pulaski. . . . In the meantime the main body of the army will lie back out of danger, unless the garrison make a sortie, when we shall drive them back withont mich diffi- cultv.
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FIFTH MASS. BATTERY ..
April 21, 1862. Mr. Schenkle the inventor of the only percussion fuze now in use, who was here to-day, says that a 200 pdr. Parrott gun has been mounted on the Point across Wormley's Creek, intended to silence the water bat- teries of the enemy. . . . Mr. Fay, allotment commissioner for Massachusetts, has been here to-day."
The Roll in charge of this officer has been thus de- scribed :-
"It is a new kind of pay roll made out by the State of Massachusetts for her soldiers, and is called the 'Allotment Roll.' Each man that wishes to allot a part or whole of his money to his parents, friends, or any one. can do so by signing the roll. Then after each company has made out its roll, and it has been signed, by the company, the Captain endorses it and gives it to the Paymaster. The Paymaster then sends the money to the State Treasurer, and he sends it to the city or town treasurer. Then the city or town treasurer notifies the persons to whom the money is sent, and they call and get it. The object is to insure safety and to save paying the percentage on the money which would have to be paid if it was sent by express."
Phillips' Diary: "April 22, 1862. . . . Set to work and built a frame house 18x13 ft., 4 ft. high at the eaves, 8 ft. high at the ridge."
THE TRENCHES .- YORKTOWN. HEAD QUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. CAMP WINFIELD SCOTT NEAR YORKTOWN VA. April 23d, 1862.
General Orders. [Extracts.]
The following orders for the construction of batteries and trenches
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HISTORY OF THE
during the operations before Yorktown, will be strictly observed, viz .-
Night working parties will be double the size of day parties, onc- half forming a support to the guard.
(IN CASE OF AN ATTACK.)
The buglers and drummers .- of whom there should always be some in the parallels with the officers commanding the firing parties and sup- ports,-immediately sound "to arms" or beat the "long roll," which will be repeated all along the lines, and as far back as the re- serves. . .
The utmost silence and order must be preserved in the trenches, and in marching to and from them. All working parties for the trenches will go equipped for action.
To prevent the glistening of the bayonets and arms betraying the movements of the troops, bayonets will be carried in the scabbard, and the gun slung while going to and from the trenches.
An officer will be sent with each relief of the guards and working parties to the batteries and trenches, who will return to his camp to escort the next relief to their proper position.
No officer, soldier. or citizen, shall be allowed to enter the trenches, or to approach their vicinity, unless specially detailed on duty there. The only exception to this rule. will be in the case of General Officers. the staff of the Major Gen. Commanding. and the staff officers of the Generals near the trenches.
[All officers or men who unnecessarily exposed themselves to the view of the enemy, with the above exceptions, were to be arrested and sent to the nearest Provost Marshal. ]
By command of Major General McClellan
S. WILLIAMS Ass't Adj't. Gen'l.
FROM A LETTER OF LIEUT. PHILLIPS.
"Thursday morning, April 24, 1862. The 5th Battery now can bear comparison with any battery in the service. and does not fall below the average standard in this Divi- sion. Griffin's Battery is of course well drilled. All regu- lars are."
Phillips' Diary : "April 25, 1862. . . . Built a turf chim- ney and fireplace in the house : cold, easterly storm all day and night."
£
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FIFTH MASS. BATTERY.
Grows' Journal : "Friday, April 25, 1862. This fore- noon I got some 'laurel root,' a very pretty wood, and made a pipe. It looks very neat and nice. The wood grows quite plenty around here. There is the usual amount of heavy firing from the large guns. We hear it so much that I have got used to it."
FROM LETTERS OF LIEUT. PHILLIPS.
"April 26, 1862. The Doctor of the N. Y. 44thi occa- sionally drops in with a New York daily, and Mr. Whitte- more reporter for the N. Y. Times, brought in this morn- ing's Times and Herald of the 23d, still as I received Bos- ton papers of the 22d, last night, I keep posted as well as anybody. .. . The house which we first built was soon carried off, to build the bridges, and nothing was left behind but a few slabs and joists. The other sections got along with a patched up arrangement which lets in wind, rain and cold, and kept everybody pretty uncomfortable. Last Tues- day, however, when the Centre section got down there, I set to work to see what we could do, and the ingenuity of the section soon planned an edifice, which I consider one of the wonders of the war. This building is 13 by 17 it., gable ended, all framed together, and all pinned together with oaken pins. The sides are made of slabs put on clap- board fashion, one end being built of oak timbers 14 inches square. The roof is made of a tarpaulin, full as light as canvas. It is 4 ft. high at the eaves, and 8 ft. at the ridge pole, so that we can stand up and walk around with great comfort. . . . During the last three or four days an east- erly storm has prevailed, and we found that our hotel would be uncomfortable without a fire, so yesterday the Centre section again took hold and built a fireplace and chimney of turf on one side of the house, cutting a hole in the side. The chimney draws beautifully, and all yesterday and last night we kept up a roaring fire. The floor is made of oak
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HISTORY OF THE
slabs, smooth side up, pretty well levelled, but with occa- sional cracks three or four inches in width. We spread our blankets on the floor, put a sloping board down for a pil- low, and turn in.
The following plan will give you an idea of how we pack.
5ft fireplace.
Corp. Nye.
IJ.W.Clark.
SETgt. Bloke!
A. Hoskins.
B.Graham.
G: Grove; !
Www.Coswelly
J.W. Morison.
C.A.P.
TE. Chase.
-8 ft
Serut. Page
Dunham.
Corp. Allen!
T
G.H. Leoch. 1
Door
House near Wormleys Cr.
We have got our wall tent, Scott and I having one, but as the Captain's tent is the only one with a stove in it, we have no chance yet to enjoy it. I like the tent much better than a Sibley. It is 9 ft. square, and about 9 ft. high, four -feet high'at the eaves. It is not so large as the Sibley tent. but the room is so disposed that it can all be used. The beds are placed on each side, leaving a clear space in the middle with a table, looking glass, &c. opposite the door. The only trouble is that the tents are not new, and ours has got a hole ripped in the end opposite the door, which we find it difficult to stop up. . . . A N. Y. Lieut. Colonel and Major deserted day before yesterday and went to Yorktown. How much information they can carry I do not know. Two bat- teries have been established by our side in the woods to the right of the field where our Battery was placed the first Sunday, and four 4 inch guns have been mounted in one of them. The mortars will be placed on the opposite shore
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FIFTH MASS. BATTERY.
of Wormley's Creek, at the end of the bridges which we are guarding. The bank has been cut away. . . . In this posi- tion they will be completely sheltered and out of sight of the enemy, while they can be fired with perfect ease, it be- ing of no consequence that the mark should be in sight from the mortar.
April 26, 1862. Two batteries we have built and four guns we have mounted. These are so near the rebel forti- fications that the men at work on them are not allowed to speak a loud word. The trees are still standing in front of them, so that the rebels cannot ascertain their exact posi- tion, though they know we are doing something in the vi- cinity; accordingly they amuse themselves by shelling the . woods but without doing any particular damage to any- body. The floating bridge which I mentioned in one of my letters as being rather a failure, has been taken up, and the materials used to build a bridge still lower down the creek. . .
. There is now great fault found with the artillery am- munition, and I do not think that McC. can shift all the blame on the Ordnance Department. Take one instance : before we left Hall's Hill, every artillery officer in the Army knew that the percussion ammunition furnished to us was utterly unreliable. The percussion fuze universally adopted is Schenkle's, the best yet invented, but the shot preferred by the Ordnance Department was found to be unreliable. Of all the percussion shell which we fired at Hall's Hill, only two proved at all satisfactory, and these were fired at the very short range of 200 yards. The rest turned over, burst in the air, and flew round in all sorts of ways, the greater number not being seen or heard of after they left the muzzle of the guns. Still knowing all this, half the bat- teries in the Army were supplied with the Dyer shot. The consequence was that in the first day's fight at Yorktown, the percussion ammunition exploded pretty much every- where, at the muzzle of the gun, and everywhere else, ex- cept the right place. As soon as the news of this reached
236
HISTORY OF THE
headquarters there was a great hullaballoo. Mr. Schenkle (see p. 125) was sent for post haste, and new ammunition was ordered, and the Ordnance Department blamed gen- erally and particularly. . . . Again the 43 in. siege guns it is said proved to be a failure before we left Washington, and yet Mcclellan accepts a train of them though greatly inferior to the Parrott gun, and the bombardment of Fort Pulaski has demonstrated that the James projectile is im- mensely superior to either. Then I don't know but what it shows generalship to draw up our Army in front of the rebel lines without any chance to outflank or surround them. . . . We can storm the works, of course, but this we might have done a great deal better the first day when the enemy were surprised and before they were reinforced.
Sunday evening, April 27th. . . . Our bridge builders seem to have changed their plans. They have taken up the upper pontoon bridge and the floating bridge, and carried the materials of the latter a short distance down the stream to build a pier bridge, which sank into the mud as soon as it was finished, so that now about 50 feet of the centre are un- der water. The lower pontoon bridge is at present defended, in addition to our Battery, by a pine log and a barrel mounted on wheels! Our house at the bridge still continues in excellent condition, the Right section today actually did a little work on it, raising the chimney a few feet. Sergt. Peacock says that the rule of the section is to put under ar- rest any man who does anything more than what is abso- lutely necessary to sustain life. . . . Staunton and Weldon are turning out to be important. Perhaps Mcclellan's plans are deeper than anybody thinks. ... The whole siege train has all disappeared, and I presume guns and mortars are all mounted somewhere, ready to open when the word is given.
At present there is quite a rage for pipe making here. At least half of the men in the Division are carving pipes out
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FIFTH MASS. BATTERY.
of laurel root, and I am not sure but I shall take to it my- self, though whether I shall make a pipe, salt cellar or toothpick I have not yet decided. . . . Five Parrott 100 pdrs. have been mounted near a large house between Worm- ley's Creek and the river . . . one from which a very good view could be obtained of the rebel fortifications. Very extensive works have been erected on the other side of the creek, and the rebels occasionally try to shell out our workmen. This morning there was quite a noise for a few minutes as they threw out a field battery, and fired as fast as they could load for about 15 minutes. The gunboats have been firing a few shots today, and seemed to have got the range better."
On this day General Fitz John Porter was appointed Di- rector of the Siege.
Grows' Journal: "Sunday, April 27th. I spent a very pleasant forenoon and portion of this afternoon reading the American Union and the Herald."
Letter of Corporal Spear: "Monday, April 28. 1862. . . . Every day thousands and thousands of men are at work throwing up entrenchments and digging rifle pits for the use of our Army in the coming battle; the infantry regi- ments do the fatigue duties, while batteries do guard duty. Yesterday there was considerable firing between the rebels and our gunboats, and several times during the day a bat- tery of field artillery would come out and fire upon our fatigue men."
Grows' Journal : "Tuesday, April 29, 1862. Was called at I o'clock this morning to go on my post, which I did, coming off at 3, when I was relieved. There has been some awful heavy firing by the rebels and our gunboats all night. I can plainly see the flashes of their guns every time they fire. 1.went to my tent and laid down and read the Herald and the Journal that I had borrowed. I had read about half an hour when the camp was awakened by the call Hitch up. I had not more than got to my place, when an
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